Can't You Feel It Growing Stronger
by NortheasternWind
Summary: The newest members of the reformed Overwatch discuss its fall, and how to prevent history from repeating itself.


"Are you ever _not_ training?"

Hana's lips curled into a smile, but she didn't look away from the targets at the end of the range as she continued to pick away at them. "I'm used to a pretty grueling schedule. The physical aspect's the only new thing, so I'm actually spending less time at the MEKA simulation these days."

Lúcio was standing behind her wearing his usual headphones—not to listen to music, of course, simply canceling out the sound of gunfire. He'd recently discovered that his sonic gun had a much longer range than he'd first assumed and swore to get better at actually aiming the thing, but… well, he'd been distracted by the sight of Hana on the range yet again.

"They didn't make you do any physical training for MEKA?"

"Nah, the omnic we fight usually springs out of the ocean, so if I leave the MEKA I'm dead regardless. But they did check in with our coaches to make sure we'd been eating right! I mean of course that's part of their job anyway, but the government put a bit more emphasis on that after we were all drafted."

"You have a coach?" Zarya asked from down the range.

"Of course I have a coach. Esports are just like any other sport."

Lúcio let out a low whistle. "Never knew it was so involved."

"Do you miss your coach?"

"Yeah, she's the best. I've been trying to keep up a decent schedule without her but it's kinda tough."

"I can help you if you wish," Symmetra offered, not from the range but one of the equipment benches behind them, having just finished her shooting. Earlier in her Overwatch tenure 76 had tried to correct her stance and her performance had suffered exactly as she said it would, and from then on he'd only offered his advice when she asked for it. "I'm probably better at keeping a schedule than you are."

"I can try to help you decide how to divide your time between MEKA simulation and the shooting range," Zarya said. "But I wonder whether 76's opinion wouldn't be more valuable than mine on that..."

"Believe me," 76 said gruffly from farther down the range. "You'll have my opinion whether you want it or not."

Lúcio grinned. "Man, we make a great team. The new Overwatch is gonna be better than ever."

"It had better be," Symmetra said flatly. "I don't think the public will forgive a second Fall of Overwatch."

Zarya set down her weapon and leaned on it. "I keep intending to ask Tracer or Winston about that, but it seems cruel to question them—knowing what I do about what happened."

"I can't believe a pair of grown men would start a firefight over petty jealousy." Hana sniffed as she reloaded her handgun. "That sounds like something someone my age would do."

Lúcio's smile slipped off his face. "I think it was a little more complicated than that, Hana."

"One team member replaces another as leader and they get into a fight? Happens all the time in esports. Although usually coaches keep that sort of thing under control..."

"Yeah, but usually the fight doesn't happen twenty years later."

"So there was some other reason for them to blow up their headquarters and everyone inside?" Zarya rolled her eyes. "I think every reason would be a childish reason."

"It's possible Morrison learned Reyes was responsible for the human rights violations," Symmetra mused. "They say he was very passionate about that. It certainly sounds like an argument that could escalate into a fight."

"Well yeah, but that assumes Reyes actually did do all that, y'know?"

"He doesn't have to have condoned it to have been responsible for it."

"Such is leadership." Zarya shrugged. "The accusation alone would start a fight, I think. I know I would be upset about something like that. 76, don't you have an opinion on any of this?"

76 started; he'd been firing away at the targets all this time, but his stiff posture and the spread of his shots indicated that he had heard every word. "I think you kids enjoy talking about issues you don't understand."

"That is exactly why it should be discussed," Symmetra said. "One who does not study history is doomed to repeat it."

"You're old enough to remember the rise _and_ the fall of Overwatch, aren't you?" Hana asked. "The others say you probably even fought in the Omnic Crisis."

"You're fighting in an Omnic Crisis right now, young lady."

She rolled her eyes. "I _mean_ , you gotta have more context for the fall of Overwatch than we do, right?"

76 turned back to his target practice with a growl. "You leave me out of this."

Lúcio sighed. "It's just sad about the whole thing. I mean Jack Morrison couldn't be everywhere and do everything, but it's tough not to be a little disappointed in him. I guess I'm a little biased, though."

"How so?"

"Always been more of a Gabriel Reyes sort of guy, y'know? Dude was a hero in my favela." Lúcio shifted on his feet a little. "I mean, of course we were all heartbroken over both of 'em, but Reyes was the guy I wrote songs about and bought posters of and everything. He even kinda looks like me."

"Oh..."

"Yeah… They were way too young to care much at the time, but my sisters said our parents were really upset about Morrison's promotion. That stuff happens way too often, so I guess it just hits a little too hard for me to say 'Reyes started it' sometimes."

"That does not make it less true."

"Yeah, I know. I mean, good people do bad things, y'know? Reyes'd probably been let down by a lot of people he trusted by that time, so you can see why he wouldn't want to bring it up even if it was bothering him. And you can't reasonably expect Morrison to know without being told, but there's gotta be _something_ he coulda done, right? Reyes was his best friend."

"How are those disputes you mentioned handled in your league?" Zarya asked, turning her gaze back to Hana.

"Well, like I said the team coaches do their best to mediate, but in the end it's up to whoever's arguing." She frowned. "Maybe there was no way to prevent what happened."

"That does not bode well for our new Overwatch," Symmetra said blankly.

Lúcio brightened a little. "It doesn't have to mean we'll go up in flames, though! I mean we're a lot smaller than the old Overwatch and we're all pretty much united behind Winston. We don't have a UN to make decisions over our heads."

Symmetra's eyes narrowed. "Most people would consider that a bad thing."

"It does make team-based decisions a little easier," Zarya said blandly.

"Yeah," said. "All that's left is to not let personal issues go unspoken for twenty whole years."

"Aight, new rule then. You got a problem you tell someone, even if it ain't the person you actually got a problem with." Lúcio laughed sheepishly. "...Well, I guess that's easier said than done. But I don't want to lose you guys the way those two lost each other."

"...I don't think you will," 76 said finally, not moving his gaze from the bots downrange. "You're all good, decent people."

"Morrison and Reyes were both good, decent people," Zarya pointed out.

"And you're a good, decent guy too," Lúcio said brightly. "We spend a lot of time on your back for being a hardass, but I think I'd forgive you just about anything."

"Yeah," Hana agreed. "I always feel better about things when you're around. So if you're upset you had better tell someone, alright?"

76 tilted his head in a way that strongly suggested he was rolling his eyes. "If I won't tell you my name, what makes you think I'll tell you my problems?"

"Then we will just have to make an effort to ask," Symmetra said. "Unless you want us pestering you constantly it's in your best interest to simply confide in us."

"Some problems can't be solved with just words."

"Then we'll figure the rest out together," Lúcio said. "Come on, pops. Promise?"

76 made the mistake of glancing over at the others gathered in the room when his magazine ran out, each of them looking back at him expectantly. He heaved a long and heavy sigh.

"Yeah, I promise."


End file.
